Cybele’s Secret has elements of mystery, adventure story, romance and thriller, plus my usual blend of history and fantasy. It’s a coming of age story for the narrator, Paula. She and her companions in adventure face some extraordinary challenges and all of them learn life lessons – Paula’s has to do with the nature of true wisdom. (She’s a scholarly girl who believes she can find the answers to most problems in books.)

Q: What would you like people to know about the story itself?

This is a companion volume to Wildwood Dancing rather than a sequel, and it’s set in Ottoman Turkey. Seventeen-year-old Paula and her merchant father, Teodor, sail to Istanbul to purchase a rare religious artefact, Cybele’s Gift. This proves to be no ordinary trading venture, and they find themselves in deadly danger. It’s not just rival bidders they have to fear, but more sinister forces. Under the patronage of a wealthy Greek scholar, Irene, Paula uncovers a trail of intriguing clues. It becomes clear that the forces of the mysterious Other Kingdom have a quest for her, and that the agent they are using to set the trail is her lost sister, Tati. Shadowed by her bodyguard, Stoyan, a young man with his own secrets, Paula sets out to solve the mystery. Complicating the situation is the charismatic pirate captain, Duarte, who seems to have a finger in every pie. A wild chase by sea and land sees Paula and her companions undergoing trials and tests beyond anything they could have imagined, and learning lessons in wisdom, trust and love.

Q: What do your characters have to overcome in this story? What challenge do you set before them?

There are mental challenges such as puzzles and riddles – it’s not always scholarly Paula who is best at these. There are extreme physical challenges, too. In this story I included many of my own worst fears, such as crossing rickety suspension bridges, crawling through narrow tunnels and being deep underground with no light. As well, each of the main characters has to face psychological challenges. Each must reassess personal strengths and weaknesses and recognise past errors of judgment.

Q: What unique challenges did it pose for you, if any?

In the current international climate there is probably some risk in a person of Anglo-Celtic origins writing a novel set in a predominantly Muslim country – Cybele’s Secret takes place with Istanbul under Turkish rule, but at a time when international trade flowed through the port and the city was home to a wide variety of languages and cultures. I did a lot of research on religious practices and customs, and spoke to people in Istanbul to try to get this aspect of the book correct. My central characters include people of various religious faiths and ethnic backgrounds, and I hope I’ve been even-handed in the way I showed them. It was wonderful travelling to Turkey to do research for the novel – just walking around amongst such rich history was overwhelming. I took hundreds of photos of little pieces of pottery, pages of old books, intricately patterned tiles, crumbling buildings, stray cats and so on. Not a tourist picture among them! There are some sad street dogs over there. I wished I could have taken one or two home to Australia.

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of having written this book?

Tackling a completely new setting, for which I had to learn about an unfamiliar culture. Writing a story with mystery elements, rather than a straight historical fantasy. Last but not least, the wonderful feedback from readers (the Australian and UK editions of the book have been out for a while now.) Both adult and young adult readers have loved the book. A lot of my recent email has been from young readers asking whether I’m planning a third in this series. I can’t answer that yet – it’s one of several future possibilities. But I do listen to my readers.

Kathleen Bolton is co-founder of Writer Unboxed. She writes under a variety of pseudonyms, including Ani Bolton.
She has written two novels as Cassidy Calloway: Confessions of a First Daughter, and Secrets of a First Daughter--both books in a YA series about the misadventures of the U.S. President's teen-aged daughter, published by HarperCollins, and Tamara Blake, for the novel Slumber.

Waited ages for this book (a year delay, eegads) only to find my bookstore (where I am employed) didn’t get any in. Very odd; hopefully I can convince someone we need to carry it. So yeah, ordered it today, can’t wait!

You’re welcome, all! Kinuko Craft’s lovely cover paintings have certainly enhanced these two books. I’ve been really lucky she was available for the job, as I can’t think of an artist better suited to these particular stories.

Therese, it was my US publisher’s decision to commission Kinuko Craft for the covers of Wildwood Dancing and Cybele’s Secret. The first I heard was when my editor told me they would approach her and see if she was available. My Aussie and English publishers then negotiated to use the same cover paintings for their editions. I got to see the paintings at sketch stage and at various stages of completion, which was fascinating.

I had already had two Kinuko Craft covers (for the Tor editions of Wolfskin and Foxmask.) She has told me she enjoys reading my books – I’m sure that’s one reason why the covers so perfectly capture the mood of the stories.

Becky, I’m sorry your bookshop didn’t get the book in. It might be worth letting them know that Wildwood Dancing garnered great reviews and made it onto various ‘top ten’ lists – info here:http://www.julietmarillier.com/wildwoodnew.htm

I just wanted to say that I stumbled across Wildwood Dancing by accident, bought it, and absolutley loved it. To find out you had written another book to accompany it was thrilling! I just finished Cybele’s Secret (about twenty minutes ago!) and I loved it just as much as the first book. You do such a wonderful job of pulling readers (like me) right into the story as if it is our own. I would definitely read any book you wrote to accompany these. Good luck with your future projects!

Thank you, Holly! I have had lots of requests to write another ‘companion book’ and I’ll be considering that along with other possible future projects at the end of the year, when Heart’s Blood (the new adult novel) has gone off to the publisher.

Amy, yes, it’s great that Heir to Sevenwaters is getting simultaneous publication in all three English language editions. I’m really grateful to my agent and to the various editors for working together to make that happen (first time for any of my books.)